Tuesday, March 31, 2020

March 2020

Early in the month, both Lucy and Ranen played violin at the local music festival.

Ranen came to cheer on her cousin...

who was very nervous about playing at the festival for the very first time.

Both girls did awesome!

Ranen suffered a concussion on a school class trip to Quebec in February.

Earlier this month she was still managing only half-days of classes.

I picked her up and dropped her off a few times.

It seems now she will have plentyof time to recover...

with no classes, music lessons or Irish dance to participate in.

Not that many weeks ago, Ryder was still playing hockey.

His dad was still coaching.

They won a tournament in Vernon.

And that was it for hockey for 2020...

locally, nationally and on TV.

We used to play Rook with my dad every week in his suite at his retirement home.

On March 12th we started a game of Rook ...

expecting to finish the game the following week.

A few days later everything changed.

Care homes in British Columbia went into lockdown mode...

and only staff are allowed inside.

We are thankful we can still drop off supplies for him at the front door...

or visit with him from two floors below his balcony.

But the game of Rook that we started may not be finished for a long time to come.

Sunday, March 15th marked the beginning of 'social distancing' for us.

Covid 19 was making its mark in BC and we were about to experience a lot of change.

It was also the start of spring break for all the grands.

Traditionally we have had a wiener roast with the whole family during spring break.

This year we still had a wiener roast...

but just with those who live on the farm next door and who we see regularly.

Even then...

we keep our distance.

This was the first time we distributed Lysol wipes before we roasted our hotdogs.

While they were over...

we recruited Ryder to do a job that we are not up to!

When the remote controlled roller blinds in the alcove on the second floor of the great room no longer work...

someone has to go up there and plug them into the charger.

It didn't seem like such a big deal sixteen years ago when we built the house.

Now it is!

The blinds are ready for some sun now, thanks to Ryder!

****

I was not too concerned about the empty grocery shelves...

being confident they would fill up after a week or two.

But that never happened...

and picking up the things on my list meant going to three of four stores.

Or even to Hope to buy yeast...

when there was none to be had in Chilliwack.

And since we were making the drive anyhow...

...we packed a picnic dinner and ate along the banks of the beautiful Skagit River.

There was no one else around...

and everything seemed right with the world there along the river bank.

We forgot that we were actually supposed to be in Iowa right then...

for my niece's wedding that weekend.

The wedding still happened...

with immediate family only.

The rest of the guests watched via live stream from the comfort of their homes.

Weddings, vacations, reunions, sporting events, tickets to this and that...

all cancelled in the space of a few days.

But we are safe...

and in a time like this home is the best place to be!

Church has taken on a whole new format.

We go whenever we please, in our pj's with coffee in hand.

I am so grateful for technology that can bring the worship service into our home...

and look forward to the time when we can meet together again...

in the flesh!

I'm also grateful for friends who still make the effort to connect...
delivering treats to 'my front porch' and chatting from a distance.
Or those who call, text, e-mail, video chat.
We know we are not alone in this!

The neighbours have been going for evening walks as a family...

and stopping by to chat from time to time.

Everyone is home.

All the time!

Emme and Spencer no longer have their car insured...

since they won't be going anywhere in the near future.

They are continuing their university classes on-line.

The rest of the grands are being home-schooled with mom as teacher.

I hear they may never want to go back to real school!

My niece Kiley is a high school agriculture teacher in Iowa.

She has started a website called On Break With Baerg with resources for her students (and any others that want to join in) during this extended Covid 19 break.

I quite enjoyed being her student as I checked it out!

This has been a month filled with a lot of hard stuff.

Covid 19 seems to have impacted every area of our lives.

Each of us is on our own and we cannot go to be with those who are hurting.

12 comments:

Yes, life has changed so quickly for the vast majority of the entire world. Who would have ever thought it? And now that we have - I think we will never forget it and will be more prepared in the future. Because it happened once, we can expect it to happen again.I am shocked at the vacant shelves in stores. When you think about it, though, everyone is staying home and cooking and eating using more groceries than ever before. But why is all the toilet paper gone? Or the salt? It is just weird.Love and prayers for you from Texas.....I know your heart is heavy about not being able to comfort and visit those you love at this time. Asking God to hold them all in his arms tonight.....

It all seems so surreal. I wanted you to know that I so appreciated your comment about being “safe at home instead of stuck at home.”

Who would ever dream that we would be required to have letters for traveling? That’s our new reality. My sister has to have a letter showing that she is a nurse filling an essential role. Nuts!

John’s sister is in a nursing home with paralysis. We can not visit, no window visits allowed, no items can be taken, and no mail is being delivered. Talk about a lockdown. I am praying that they will schedule a telephone visit at least. She can’t make calls or even hold a phone anymore.

Ryan did a great job on those windows! Sometimes we don’t consider the future when making design plans. I have lots of second opinions about all the transom windows we put in here back when it was no big deal. Yup, I get it.

Two sisters? My, somehow, one slipped through my memory. Will pray for all the Wiebe~Baerg family. God knows and He frets not over limited supplies.

Off to check out your niece’s site. Homeschooling is pretty hit or miss these days. Teachers just don’t have it together on either side. 😁 Praying for the time to be redeemed.

I told my husband that I go to the grocery store way more often than normal... just to be able to find the items on my list takes several attempts. Thank goodness I had just purchased toilet paper at Sam's Club a couple of weeks before the craziness began. I am stocked up on that! I always enjoy your posts, Judy. As each month draws to a close I look forward with anticipation to your monthly wrap-up! Take care...

What a time we are living in and growing in. Thankful that God will bring us through to the other side. It's so nice to have good views from our windows while we bunker. Praying for your dear sisters, dad, and friend.

A month to never be forgotten indeed! My heart hurts for what is happening and for your dad and your sisters and friend. There is just so much sadness and uncertainty. I am thankful to be safe at home! I believe the future will be forever changed and I am trying hard to embrace this new reality. A driveway chalk sign done by a dear friend reads something like this: "the way out is through"! May our dear Lord lead us through ...

This has been the strangest time for the world. Perhaps we will learn valuable lessons from it beyond a novel coronavirus cure and a vaccine for it. I am so sorry to hear about your two sisters, Judy, and I hope they will be well, as well as your father and friend. We began our "stay at home" journey the same date as you did and thankfully all our relatives and friends in Italy, New York City, and other parts of the US are all well at this time. We also have church services online and daily bible readings, and we pray often. A daily hike for an hour on trails in our neighborhood and Zoom conferences with family and friends have helped us stay active and in touch. Please stay healthy in this month of April!

PS: I hope Ranen will heal well from her concussion. My second grandson suffered a concussion this spring when he was snowboarding. He was doing well but had his first migraine headache yesterday, poor guy. He is enjoying homeschool the best now. The other three miss their teachers and friends.

Welcome here...so glad you stopped by.

Let’s have a cup of coffee together and chat for awhile...mostly about family, friends, food, farming, faith and a few of my favorite pastimes. Did I mention travelling? Life itself is a journey. May you find some encouragement here as I share bits and pieces along the way.

I hope you enjoy your visit and welcome your thoughts.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Psalm 103:1

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I live with my husband on a dairy farm in the beautiful Fraser Valley of British Columbia. We enjoy having our grown children and our delightful grands living nearby. I usually have a project or two on the go and the coffee's always on!